Racers beat nemesis, move into first

~ Murray State's men beat Samford for the first time since the Bulldogs joined the league.

Murray State got a major monkey off its back -- and in the process took over sole possession of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The perennial powerhouse Racers, who had not defeated Samford since the Bulldogs joined the OVC, rolled to a 59-38 victory Monday night in Murray, Ky.

Samford, a third-year OVC member, had been 3-0 against Murray State in conference play, including a 61-50 win in Birmingham, Ala., on Dec. 21.

"You'd be lying as a competitor ... you want to get that one. That's something that had been frustrating to us, the coaching staff as well as the players," Murray State coach Mick Cronin said during Tuesday's OVC coaches teleconference. "But I told the guys before we took the floor, let's be honest, this isn't about styles and system. We've been outplayed by this team.

"It was nice to get a win, but the reality is, it was a meaningful win, two teams tied for first. It's nice to win a first-place game against a coach I have a lot of respect for."

Murray State (14-5, 11-2 OVC) has won nine of its last 10 games, including four straight. The Racers lead the Bulldogs (14-6, 10-3) by one game, with seven league contests remaining. Samford had a four-game winning streak snapped.

"Essentially, they just took the game to us. His kids did a great job, better than our guys," Samford coach Jimmy Tillette said. "Murray State was really great. Those guys played really well. They deserved to win the game for sure."

Defense, which has been the Racers' trademark most of the season, again paved the way Monday night.

Samford is one of the nation's best shooting teams. Overall, the Bulldogs lead the OVC in both field-goal percentage (49.6) and 3-point field-goal percentage (41.1). In conference games, those figures are even better at 51.4 and 43.3.

But against the Racers, Samford shot just 28.3 percent (13 of 46), including 25 percent on 3-pointers (7 of 28).

Murray State leads the OVC in field-goal percentage defense (40.4), and ranks second in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (32.5).

"They're a much better shooting team than they showed last night. They missed some open shots," Cronin said. "You'd like to think you had something to do with them missing open shots. Maybe our press rattled them a little bit.

"I thought we probably played as well as we could possibly play. Our effort was tremendous, our attitude was even better, and our execution on the defensive end with what we were trying to accomplish was good as well. I thought it would take that kind of effort to win the game."

For the first time this season, Samford failed to have a player score in double figures.

Particularly struggling was senior forward J. Robert Merritt, a leading candidate for the OVC's player of the year award.

Merritt, the league's sixth-leading scorer at 17.2 points per game, is shooting an eye-popping 52.5 percent from 3-point range in conference play, and 49.7 percent on 3-pointers in all games. His overall field-goal percentage is 48.3.

Monday night, Merritt made just 3 of 14 shots, including 3 of 12 from 3-point range.

"We did miss some open shots, but a lot of it was because they pressured us at times," Tillette said.

Junior forward Shawn Witherspoon had 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Racers. Senior center Pearson Griffith also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds as Murray State dominated the boards 40-22.

While Murray State took over first place in the OVC, Tennessee Tech (15-7, 10-4) remained on the top two teams' heels with a 69-66 win at last-place Morehead State.

With five conference losses, Eastern Kentucky (10-10, 7-5) and Tennessee State (8-10, 7-5) still have an outside chance at the regular-season championship.

Two women's teams tied

Southeast Missouri State and Tennessee Tech remained tied for first place in the OVC women's standings, with Samford dropping from a share of the top spot.

The Redhawks (13-7, 10-3) eased past host Austin Peay 73-57 Monday night for their seventh straight win, while the Eaglettes (14-6, 10-3) had a much tougher time in slipping past host Morehead State 60-59.

Tennessee Tech had to withstand a big-time performance from Morehead State junior center LaKrisha Brown, who posted the highest single game rebound total in NCAA Division I this season with 26, while also scoring 19 points.

Samford (14-6, 9-4) suffered its second consecutive loss as host Murray State prevailed 67-66 in overtime.